Drupal 8 Initiatives
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The document provides an update on Drupal 8 initiatives, highlighting the release history and new focus areas for improvement in upcoming versions. It details various strategic initiatives, including migration, content workflow, API integration, media handling, blocks and layouts, data modeling, theme components, and cross-channel orchestration. Additionally, it outlines current statuses, improvements, and ways for community members to contribute to these initiatives.
Drupal 8 Initiatives
- 1. An update on Drupal 8 initiatives (8.2.x edition) Angela “webchick” Byron DrupalCorn Camp 2016
- 2. About me Blah blah blah
- 4. Agenda • Brief history of Drupal 8 & initiatives • New Drupal 8 initiatives (+ tools to get there) • foreach ($initiative): • What’s it about, and where’s it at? • Q&A
- 5. A brief history of Drupal 8 & initiatives Wherein I copy/paste a bunch of Dries’s slides. ;)
- 6. What is an initiative? A culmination of spicy ingredients
- 7. Drupal 8.0.0 “official” strategic initiatives • Defined in 2011-2012 by Dries Buytaert, project lead • Mix of “top-down” (idea first, then team) and “bottom-up” (blessing existing effort) Configuration Mangement Mobile Multilingual Views Web Services Authoring Experience HTML5 Blocks & Layout
- 8. Drupal 8.0.0 “community” initiatives • Motivated mainly by “itch scratching” of individual contributors • Examples: Twig, Accessibility, Entity API, PHPUnit, Migrate
- 9. Drupal 8.0.0 shipped! Hundreds of parties last November
- 10. New release cycle adopted Dec 2015 Jan 2016 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct 2016 8.0.x supported release beta8.1.x development rc 8.1.x supported release beta8.2.x development rc https://www.drupal.org/core/release-cycle-overview 8.3.x dev
- 11. New release cycle adopted Dec 2015 Jan 2016 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct 2016 8.0.x supported release beta8.1.x development rc 8.1.x supported release beta8.2.x development rc https://www.drupal.org/core/release-cycle-overview 8.3.x dev New, backwards- compatible features! We are here.
- 12. New innovation tool: Experimental modules • New module package for bleeding-edge users • Allows putting things into core that are known not to be perfect yet, but that are of strategic significance • Rapid iteration based on real user feedback; gradually move to stable • Allows core to benefit from “agile” best practices usually only seen in contrib development https://www.drupal.org/core/experimental
- 13. What should we put in those minor releases? We asked! Over 3,000 answered!
- 14. Meet the new Drupal 8 strategic initiatives! Including a couple of old ones. ;) Customer Experience Developer Experience Editorial Experience
- 15. Time for a run-down! • What does each initiative entail? • What’s the current status? • How and where can you help?
- 16. #1: Migrate To Drupal 8… and beyond!
- 17. What is it? • As of Drupal 8, no longer upgrade path. Now, migration path. • Keep existing site running until new site is ready. • Both D6 => D8 and D7 => D8 migrations provided • D6 => D8 prioritized; Drupal 6 EOL as of February
- 18. Migrate UI 8.1 https://www.drupal.org/upgrade/migrate (There’s also https://www.drupal.org/project/mi grate_upgrade for Drush)
- 19. Current status • Major improvements in Drupal 8.2: • Support for translated content in Drupal 6 • Architecture finalization • Variety of bug fixes • Focus on getting module out of experimental, further fleshing out 7 => 8 migrations
- 20. How to help? • Main jumping-off point: Spreadsheet of Doom :) • Issue queue: migration system component • High-priority issues: Migrate critical issue tag • Twitter: @MigrateDrupal • Chat: #drupal-migrate on IRC • Weekly meetings on Thursdays (alternate North America/Europe friendly times)
- 21. But I’m still on Drupal 7! :( Or, heaven forbird, Drupal 6. ;)
- 23. Drupal 8 Contrib Porting Tracker • https://www.drupal.org/project/issues/contrib_tracker
- 24. Drupal Module Upgrader • https://www.drupal.org/project/drupalmoduleupgrader
- 25. #2: Content Workflow Anyone else notice a draft in here?
- 26. What is it? • Maintainers of the Deploy and Workbench suite of modules combining forces to get their work into core for Drupal 8. • Goals: • Revisions on (almost) everything • Configurable workflow states/transitions • Trash bin functionality • Full-site preview with Workspaces
- 29. Current status • Major improvements in Drupal 8.2: • Very close on Content Moderation! • Lots of underlying revision support improvements • Blocks are now revisionable • Next up: Enable CRAP (create/read/archive/purge) storage, Trash Bin/undo functionality
- 30. How to help? • Main jumping-off point: #2721129: Workflow Initiative • Issue tag: Workflow Initiative • Additional background: http://buytaert.net/improving- drupal-content-workflow • Kanban board: https://contribkanban.com/sprint/WorkflowInitiative
- 31. #3: API-First Integrate ALL the things!
- 32. What is it? • Drupal 8.0.0’s Web Services initiative added a REST API to Drupal core to enable integration with external systems • However: • Some rough edges have been exposed through “real world” usage, esp. in decoupled JS apps • Since 2012-2013 when core’s HAL-based REST API was developed, new standards have emerged • Not optimized for front-end developers; lack of SDKs make getting started difficult
- 34. Waterwheel (JavaScript SDK) 8.4+ https://github.com/acquia/waterwheel-js
- 35. Current status • Lots of REST improvements made it into 8.2: (more to come) • Config entity GET support (e.g. taxonomy vocabularies, menus) • Simplified configuration • Improvements to Views, Comment REST support • Developer experience improvements • Waterwheel, JSON API, GraphQL evolving in contrib (8.3+)
- 36. How to help? • Main tracking issue: #2757967: API-first initiative • REST top priorities: https://www.drupal.org/node/2721489 • Monthly coordination meetings on Google Hangouts (next one Aug 15 at 10am Central) • A roadmap for making Drupal more API-first: http://buytaert.net/a-roadmap-for-making-drupal-more- api-first
- 37. #4: Media Smile! You’re on candid camera!
- 38. What is it? • Media initiative dates back to 2007; group of long-time contributors • Lots of modules, extremely powerful, difficult to configure • Without media functionality out of the box, Drupal looks weak compared to its competitors • Goal is a “just works,” out-of-the-box configuration of media functionality built on powerful, flexible architecture to handle more advanced cases
- 41. Current status • Media team currently in process of drafting core plan for community review • Work ongoing to port all the various modules in contrib: Entity Embed, Entity Browser, etc. • Fairly far along; D8 versions of nearly everything: http://janezurevc.name/releases-of-various-drupal-8- media-modules • Starting to focus more on “solution” modules (Media, Content Browser, etc.)
- 42. How to help? • Drupal 8 Media Guide: https://www.gitbook.com/book/drupal- media/drupal8-guide/details • Issue tag: D8Media / Twitter: @drupalmedia • Chat: #drupal-media on IRC • Weekly meetings on Wednesdays • Kanban board: https://contribkanban.com/sprint/mediaInitiative • Help wanted: Testers for various contributed modules; Developers to help with contrib porting efforts
- 43. #5: Blocks and Layouts
- 44. What is it? • Blocks gained massive improvements in Drupal 8: fieldable, multiple placements per theme, UI improvements • Layouts… not so much. ;) • But! Layout plugin creates central architecture shared by both page manager and display suite • End goal is to provide customized layout functionality in core itself.
- 45. Place Blocks from front-end (experimental) https://www.drupal.org/node/2739075 8.2
- 46. Per-content type layouts 8.3+
- 48. Current status • Core plan discussed at DrupalCon New Orleans being drafted for community review • Start with Display Suite-like functionality in core, then move to Panels • Work ongoing to port all the various modules in contrib: Panels, Page Manager, etc. • Fairly far along; beta versions of nearly everything.
- 49. How to help? • Issue tag: D8panels • Chat: #drupal-scotch on IRC • Weekly meetings on Tuesdays • Work on porting various contrib modules
- 50. #6: Data Modeling May I join you?
- 51. What is it? • Two of Drupal’s biggest strengths are its structured data modelling (Entities/Fields) and content visualization (Views) capabilities • These are also some of the hardest concepts (and user interfaces) for new Drupal site builders to grasp • Improve Field UI / Views UI to get new users to their “ah-HA!” moment with Drupal much sooner
- 52. Current Field UI • Abstractly choose data type first, what it looks like second (opposite of problem you’re trying to solve) • Common options such as “Text” aren’t visible without scrolling (“Boolean” = most important?) • No preview; Admin UI completely disconnected from actual form you’re changing
- 53. Interim proposal: Dream Fields Widget first, field later 8.3?
- 54. Or, double-down on data modelling? Possible sci-fi future! 8.4+
- 55. Current Views UI • All power of UI exposed at once; lack of clear visual hierarchy • Not easy to tell what effect changes are having; preview often “below the fold” • Frightens young children and grizzled veterans alike
- 56. Interim proposal: Preview-first Views UI Now only scaring small children ;) 8.3?
- 57. Current Status • No formal plan/team yet for core • Dream Fields: https://www.drupal.org/project/dream_fields / https://www.drupal.org/node/2539740 • Preview-first Views UI: https://www.drupal.org/node/2684509
- 58. #7: Theme Component Library Atomic Design: Because big glops of HTML are no fun
- 59. What is it? • Drupal’s current render and theme system is overly complex and inscrutable: #type vs. #theme, #pre_render vs. #post_render, etc. • Templates often get large chunks of pre-rendered HTML sent to them, courtesy of ginormous render arrays. Impossible to re-use in e.g. a JavaScript context. • Instead: Develop individual UI elements as “components,” independently of Drupal, which can be mixed/matched • Provides a number of benefits: pattern library, style guides, interface previews, client-side re-rendering
- 60. How does it work? Atoms > Molecules > Organisms
- 61. Current status • General enthusiastic agreement on overall idea, but lots of diverging opinions about the details • To work these details out (also, pretty!), folks are in the process of proposing a new user-facing core theme • In contrib, Zen theme actively experimenting with component-based approach 8.4?
- 62. How to help? • Main tracking issue: #2702061: Unify & simplify render & theme system: component-based rendering • #2759849: Propose new user-facing core theme to register interest in helping with that • https://www.drupal.org/project/zen and https://www.drupal.org/project/components to play around with one possible implementation and provide feedback
- 63. #8: Cross-Channel Orchestration Your shoes are spying on you
- 64. What is it? • Expand Drupal’s use beyond just websites and web applications to experiences on any device at any time • Take into account context such as user preferences, location, time of day to intelligently personalize • Notifications that go beyond the web browser and email: SMS, Internet of Things, etc.
- 65. Example Drupal + Mobile + Internet of Things
- 66. Current status • No identified team/plan yet for core • Some plumbing in contrib, however: • Rules: https://www.drupal.org/project/rules • Message: https://www.drupal.org/project/message • Alexa: https://www.drupal.org/project/alexa 8.4?
- 67. Bonus! Usability
- 68. Background • Numerous usability tests have been done, both formally and informally (https://www.drupal.org/usability-tests) • Central themes: • Obscure terminology scares people • Users have huge reliance on previews • “Russian nesting dolls” of abstraction is frustrating https://www.drupal.org/node/2497361
- 70. Drag-and-drop image uploads 8.2? https://www.drupal.org/node/2421427
- 71. Redesigned admin status page 8.2? https://www.drupal.org/node/665790
- 72. Sample content in install profile • Default Drupal just tells you “You have no content.” • Playing around with Drupal without guidance can lead new users to believe it is limited • What if we showcased what Drupal could do in standard installation? • “Snowman” community initiative https://www.drupal.org/node/79582 8.3+
- 73. How to help? • http://drupalux.org/ main jumping-off point • Issue tag: Usability / Twitter: @drupalux • Chat: #ux on drupal.slack.com • Attend twice-weekly meetings to share/review ideas (Tues @ 2pm Central) • Need not only designers to come up with cool ideas, but developers to help implement them!
- 74. Questions? I’ll do my best. :)